Hawaii!

A few weeks ago John and I came back from a trip to Hawaii. We went to Oahu and stayed in Waikiki.

We got to see friends and family and it was a great vacation. A couple dear friends from college that I haven't seen in ages were there.

   

Morgan, Me, Kitra. I love you girls!

My Mom was also there, along with my Aunt Carolyn who lives there and my grandparents. Hi Mom!

Living in the real world is weird. Granted, I have maybe a juvenile perspective on this because after high school I stayed in ongoing education for 8 more years, so at the age of 25, I started the first year I'm not in school since age 2.

All that to say, part of my real life residency job is that schedules are set way in advance. I requested all my vacations for the subsequent year last March and this one has been in the works for a long time.

Although it rained a fair amount and was kind of cloudy, it still was great. Here's a little photo diary.

We bought a fresh coconut from a guy selling them out the back of a truck.

It was awesome.

Acai bowls are still all the rage. This one was my favorite: Island Vintage Coffee.

More Acai bowls.

View on the North Shore. We rented a car for just 24 hours or so to drive around the island - and so we could get to Morgan who was staying on the North side.

It was pretty windy.

There's an awesome Thai place in Haleiwa called Opal Thai where the owner will ask you about Thai dishes you like, dietary restrictions, etc. and then just start bringing you plates. 

It was amazing, and totally affordable.

Above are lettuce wraps and below is a drunken noodle-esque dish.

Obligatory sandy toes and ocean.

The view from the Edge at Sheraton Waikiki.

Hiking! Koko head is an old track for a tram. You can hike straight up the railroad ties to a 360 degree view. The elevation gain is about 1200 feet and it's over 1000 steps.

We were so confident. 

And then we were super sweaty but it was really fun. There were some crazy people running time intervals up the thing, but I was happy just to survive the climb. 

Later that same afternoon we went to Manoa falls with Kitra and her fiance Darren.

Part of Jurassic Park was filmed here. And Lost.

Yay falls! It was an easy hike but it did start pouring on us on our way back.

And then we were drenched.

It was over far too soon and I was back at work. Immediately after returning I wrapped up my Development rotation and went back to the Wards and we've already had almost 3 weeks of that. We had intern retreat in there which will be its own post, but now it's back to real life. 

Thanks for reading!

Are you taking any fun vacations in the next year?